From what I've heard on the news and in newspapers the boy, Terry Vo, is doing very well. It was reported that he was talking to one of the ambulance officers on the way to hospital, asking him if his was the worst case he'd seen. The officer replied that it was, and was amazed that he was so calm. Young Terry loves sport and enjoys karate. His uncle said he's always had a positive outlook, and he'll need a lot of that in the future.

Doctors say his arms and leg will be 3 - 4 cm (about 1-3/4") shorter now due to the work that had to be done before the hands and foot could be re-attached. Doctors expect he should achieve 90% use of his limbs.

There will be an enquiry into the accident, and suggestions have been made that only free-standing basketball hoops be allowed. It's amazing how these sort of pronouncements always happen after the fact.

It was an accident that no one could have foreseen, and I feel sorry for the people at whose house the accident happened. Imagine how you would feel if it had been your house, with happy children playing and enjoying a birthday party when this happens. People would assume anything attached to a brick wall would be stable enough to take a child's weight.

I certainly wish him a full recovery.

Maewyn

P.S. I just heard on the news that Terry is now out of Intensive Care.

In today's newspaper there was a report that he's had a small setback in that he's going to lose some skin from his reattached foot. The report gave no further details, except that he's continuing to improve.

Btw can someone please explain me the last sentence though. What's that about playstation has no hand control, Isn't that what Playstations are supposed to have?

Didi - I Googled Playstation Eye Toy for you. From what I can work out, it has a camera which records your movements, and so whatever is on the screen, moves as you do.

Australia's Sixty Minutes program featured Terry's story tonight. What an amazing young boy!

When asked by the reporter how it felt when the accident happened, he said it didn't really hurt, rather that it felt like pins and needles. He was unaware that his foot had been cut off, and tried to stand. He also said that he didn't scream or cry, because he remembered hearing that when someone is injured and bleeding badly, getting really upset speeds the heart rate, which would make the wound bleed more.

He can move his fingers. He can feel pressure on his fingertips, but can't feel hot or cold. Doctors say if he perseveres with his physiotherapy (over a long period of time), he should be able to use a pen to write again.

They showed the stitches being removed from his wrist. He was also shown walking (hopping), whilst leaning on a type of walking frame. A prosthetic foot should be fitted soon.

I have a feeling Terry is one of those people who will succeed in life, no matter what's thrown at him!

He is now walking unaided on his new prosthetic foot, only four days after it was fitted. His physiotherapist walks beside him, in case he should stumble. He can't afford to fall, because like anyone, his first reaction would be to put his hands out in front to save himself. This action could cause more damage to his hands. She has to keep reminding him to slow down - he wants to run!

He still receives six hours of physiotherapy on his hands every day. His doctors are amazed at his physical and mental progress.

Terry is now walking easily, and unassisted on his prosthetic foot (his physiotherapist no longer is hovering beside him in case he stumbles).

He is also starting to write, which means his hand is responding well to physiotherapy.

It has just been announced that all basketball hoops sold in Australia will now have warnings attached, and instructions on where to attach them, to avoid terrible accidents like this from recurring. (Pity they hadn't thought of that before it happened.)

It's a few months down the track, and I have another update on Terry Vo.

Last night Australia's Sixty Minutes had a feature on his progress.

The Terry Vo Story is a direct transcript and doesn't show where flashbacks are shown, so it can be a bit confusing with the story jumping back and forth.

I've copied some extracts that indicate how he has progressed.

A recap on what happened.

TARA BROWN:...It could have been anyone's backyard, Easter weekend, a child's birthday party and the children gathered around to play a game of basketball. Terry Vo had the ball and, as he'd done in so many other games, decided to slam dunk it. He jumped and grabbed onto the basketball hoop, which was just there, just above the garage, but as he hung on, the brick wall it was attached to gave way.

You said to me when we first met that you felt lucky, that it could have been much worse.

TERRY VO: I was lucky that my friends didn't get hurt and it didn't chop my head off.

TARA BROWN: But to everyone else, Terry Vo was the unluckiest kid in the world, slicing off both hands and his left foot.

From a distance, three kids doing what so many young Australians do on a Sunday afternoon. But what makes this remarkable is that one of the kids is Terry Vo, shooting hoops, catching and running almost as well as any 10-year-old.

The vision showed Terry running and dodging around his friends, and throwing the ball through the hoop. You'd never know he had an artificial leg or that he'd had both hands re-attached after that terrible accident.

DR ROBERT LOVE: Terry's doing very well. Terry already has a near-complete return of sensation in the actual palms of both hands.

TARA BROWN: And with his fingers?

DR ROBERT LOVE: Towards the tip of the fingers, he's returning the sensation there so that, again, he can determine hot from cold, sharp from dull and the light touch is again returning there.

ANGELA CHEW: For Terry, we try to look at his everyday life, so things like going to school, just participating at home, being able to eat, being able to dress himself, and now we're getting down to the nitty gritty like his shoelaces and his buttons, the more difficult fine tasks that he needs to be able to do. He's done well, but it's taken a lot of patience and hard work on his part.

The vision showed him tying his shoelaces and doing up a button.

TARA BROWN: When Terry first came out of surgery, unsure he'd ever be able to use his hands or walk again, his family set him a challenge — to be the ring bearer at his uncle's wedding. Four weeks ago, Trung and Bin married and Terry was there doing his part and despite the effort, making it look easy. But that's Terry Vo's style, hard work hidden behind lots of smiles.

Should people feel sorry for you?

TERRY VO: Ah, they don't have to if they don't want to, but people should care for other people. But I made this progress and I made it back to the normal life.